About this episode

Dr Margie Davenport discusses the evidence surrounding exercise during pregnancy and postpartum, challenging historical prohibitions with new data.

In this episode, exercise physiologist Dr Margie Davenport walks me through what the evidence actually shows about exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Margie chaired the 2019 Canadian Guideline for Physical Activity throughout Pregnancy, the 2025 Canadian postpartum guideline, and the upcoming International Olympic Committee consensus statement on athletes through pregnancy and postpartum. We cover where the 140 bpm rule came from, the scale of the benefits at the population level, what direct fetal monitoring during HIIT and heavy lifting really shows, the new postpartum data, and why so many of the historical prohibitions do not survive contact with the data. What we cover: Where the 1985 "stay below 140 bpm" rule came from, and why it has long outlived its evidence Around 40 percent fewer cases of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, and around 67 percent fewer cases of depression during pregnancy HIIT, heavy resistance training, and what fetal monitoring shows The 51 percent reduction in complications among women who kept lifting heavy Postpartum: the six-week myth, breastfeeding and injury risk, and a 45 percent reduction in postpartum depression The short…

People in this episode

Host: Simon Hill

Guest: Dr Margie Davenport

Topics covered

• exercise during pregnancy
• postpartum health
• evidence-based guidelines
• fetal monitoring
• mental health during pregnancy

Keywords

• exercise
• pregnancy
• postpartum
• fetal monitoring
• mental health
• guidelines
• HIIT
• resistance training

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Canadian Guideline for Physical Activity throughout Pregnancy, International Olympic Committee

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